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Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 1/23/2025
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Springer
2:39
Will I really be a salary dump or is it worth holding on to the 2nd rounder it will cost to dump me to pay a little more salary tax $?
Luke Adams
2:41
I need to take a closer look at which tradable second-round picks the Celtics have, but I'd bet if they attach a second-rounder to Springer, it won't be a 2025 pick. The cynical part of me says they'll try to send a pick from a few years down the road and make it the future team owner's problem.
Chris
2:42
Any real news on Detroit? All I've seen are random ridiculous trade ideas that don't help out our young team.
Luke Adams
2:45
Still tough to get a read on which direction they'll go with their cap room, but I'm with you that the idea of them taking on an expensive veteran like Beal or LaVine seems a little dubious.

I may have said this in a previous chat, but the best-case scenario for them would be to use their remaining room to take on a player that a cap-strapped another team is trying to dump and who could actually help the Pistons this season. Need to take a closer look at who might fit this bill.
Nuglife
2:46
Bruce Brown, KCP, and Uncle Jeff all saw their play drop after cashing out leaving the nuggets. Russ has completely changed his market and league perception for this off-season. Has Jokic + the team-focused play of Murray and Gordan made denver the place for vets to come on league minimum to build back value going forward?
Luke Adams
2:49
As long as they're good fits to play alongside Jokic and not just when he's on the bench (sorry, Dario Saric). It may not be THE place for minimum-salary vets, but it's certainly A place, and I'd expect Denver to be among the teams in play for some of the top min-salary guys for the next couple seasons at least.
GrizzMan
2:49
Who’s calling Memphis about Kennard?
Luke Adams
2:50
Doubt any teams are burning up the phone lines for Kennard, who's the sort of player that's hard to rely on in the postseason. But his expiring contract could be useful for salary-matching if the Grizzlies do something at the deadline.
Ed
2:51
What could the Nets get if they traded Claxton or Cam Thomas?
Luke Adams
2:52
Claxton is one of those guys that probably falls in the "not the right time to trade him" category -- having a down year by his standards, and it's the first of a four-year contract. The Nets would probably be able to get more for him in future transaction windows.

As for Thomas... like Kuminga, you'd have to find a team prepared to pay him as a restricted free agent. Wouldn't expect more than a single protected first-round pick and even that might be hard to find, given that there will be some skepticism about his ability to contribute beyond scoring.
Craig
2:53
Look into your crystal ball. Will Philadelphia go into tank mode to save their top 6 protected pick (OKC bound)? As a Thunder fan I would love to get Tre Johnson from Texas at #8.
Luke Adams
2:55
There are currently seven teams worse than the Sixers and I think it'll be hard for them to out-tank the Nets, Hornets, Wizards, Trail Blazers, and Jazz. They also have more talent than the Raptors and Pelicans, so unless you plan to shut down Embiid, George, and Maxey, it'll be tough to lose enough games to have any assurances of keeping that pick (the sixth-worst team in the league still has more than a 50/50 chance of picking outside the top six).

It's not out of the question, especially if the Embiid prognosis is bad, but I still think they're more likely to make the play-in than to finish with a bottom-six record.
The OKC
2:56
Which trade do they make before the deadline?
Luke Adams
2:58
Cam Johnson would be interesting, but I'd bet on OKC standing pat. They're on their way to the No. 1 seed and look like the team to beat in the West, and they already made their big changes to this year's roster when they added Caruso and Hartenstein.

I bet they feel like they already have enough to win the conference. If it turns out they don't, they can reassess their options in the offseason when it's easier to make moves.

(Worth noting too that Sam Presti spoke last year about the perils of making in-season trades after their deal for Gordon Hayward backfired.)
JP
2:58
Hi Luke, with all the injuries to the Mavs roster. Are there any free agents they can sign to 10 day contracts. Your thoughts?
Luke Adams
3:00
They have a full 15-man roster and don't yet qualify for a hardship exception, so I wouldn't bet on 10-day help coming. Maybe that changes if it turns out a couple of the day-to-day injuries turn into something worse.
Nintendo Nathan
3:01
Do you think some superstar will force his way to play with Lebron and Davis at this deadline?
Luke Adams
3:02
Hard to picture at this point. The Lakers are maybe slightly better positioned than a team like the Suns to trade for a star, but it's probably telling that we've heard next to no chatter linking them to guys like Butler, LaVine, etc.
Appreciate all the questions today, guys! We'll have another pre-deadline chat next Thursday. Have a great week.
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